The invention relates to an article display, and more particularly, to a display for storing and vending rolls of floor covering. The display stores and vends different size rolls having the same design be means of a plurality of vertically stacked racks which display the rolls in a horizontal cascade fashion, and a grid-like holder rack which stores and vends rolls in an upright and orderly manner.
Commercial items are displayed in retail settings primarily for attracting customer attention. Items are displayed throughout a store so that customers may view the assorted items and make a selection. In a competitive environment, the particular manner in which an item is displayed may result in one item being chosen over another item merely due to the display's appeal and the item's presentation. The effect of a commercial item's packaging and display in influencing the public to select that item is the predominate force behind advertising.
In the floor covering industry, i.e., rugs, carpet, linoleum, etc., rugs are generally displayed either horizontally laying flat or rolled up; standing either upright or lying flat. There are three primary problems which the consumer encounters when selecting a rug which is horizontally lying flat. The first problem arises in that a consumer can only see the particular pattern of the rug which is lying on the top of a group of horizontally laid rugs. Consequently should the consumer not like that particular pattern which is displayed, the consumer may not search that particular pile thinking that the pile is representative entirely of that displayed pattern. Additionally, should a consumer venture over to a pile of rugs laid out in a horizontal manner, the consumer must flip one rug after another to see the full collection of rug patterns available. The flipping of rugs from one to the other is very inconvenient to the consumer. Not only does the flipping of rugs grow progressively heavier as more rugs are flipped, but generally when one rug is just briefly leafed through only a limited view of the pattern is accessible to the consumer.
In order to solve the many problems which are encountered by the consumer in a horizontally flat rug display setting, in some situations the rugs are shown in a manner in which they are rolled up, sealed and displayed in a vertical position with a picture of the rug's pattern affixed to the packaging. This allows the consumer to view a general picture of the rug's pattern. The problem with the rolled up rug is that there is generally no stabilizer for supporting the rugs and the rugs will generally be knocked over by the consumer who is separating the rolled up rugs to view the entire selection of available rugs. Consequently, after a short period of time, most of the rolled up rugs which are being displayed end up in a horizontal fashion on the floor utilizing a large floor space for display. Should the rolled up rugs be displayed in a horizontal fashion, the consumer difficulties which arise when rugs are generally laid flat for display also exist in this particular display fashion i.e., limited viewing of the available selection and inconvenience in separating the rugs for viewing.
Furthermore, the primary difficulty in displaying rugs in a manner optimally beneficial to a consumer is that the floor spaced required to display any particular item has become increasingly expensive. Consequently, it has become increasingly difficult to effectively portray to the consumer the selections of rugs available in an eye appealing fashion whereby the consumer will be attracted to view the particular attributes of a rug in a close-up manner. Due to space constraints, only a limited number of rugs and consequently only a few patterns can be displayed. The effect is that the enticement of a consumer to inquire on the selection of rugs is mostly dependent on the appeal of the few rugs which are displayed either in a horizontal manner or rolled up and displayed vertically.
Furthermore, rugs come in a variety of assortment of sizes, patterns, and purposes. In today's world it is common for a rug of a substantial size to be purchased in combination along with a long narrow piece of carpeting called a "runner" which is complimentary to the primary rug. Therefore, the displaying of a rug along with its complimentary runner is desirable for providing the consumer with a complete representation of the selections available. Once again, the current method of having rugs laid flat or rolled up, or lying around in a disorganized manner prevents a consumer from associating a particular rug with its complementary runner and "picturing" that combination in an ascetically appeasing manner. Additionally, having rugs of different sizes complicate an orderly presentment of the rugs to the public. A display unit which can only accommodate a standard size will be unable to display patterns of that rug in other sizes.
Previously, display units have been proposed for displaying various products. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,891,677 illustrates a bread loaf display rack which is designed as a vending facility enabling a consumer to self serve himself bread. The rack is designed as a storage and facilitating device and not as a display rack for promoting visual attraction of a commodity to a consumer. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,002 shows a merchandising system which includes shelves which extend upward in a vertical direction thus minimizing overall floor space required for the display of numerous articles, however, the particular shelving structure disclosed merely provides for the display of items in a flat manner.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a storage/display rack for the display of a variety of rolls of floor coverings, both in a variety of patterns and sizes in an attractive manner while minimizing actual floor space;
Also it is an object of the present invention to provide a storage/vending rack which enables the customer to easily retrieve any desired floor article covering displayed by the rack in a selfvending manner;
Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cascade rug display which will provide for the displaying of rolls of relatively large rugs along with complimentary runners in an attractive manner while providing an efficient display in a minimal amount of floor space;
Additionally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a convertible rug display such that the display may be a free standing device or one that is convertible to a shelving unit which may be attached to a pre-existing floor display allowing for maximum flexibility in the displaying of rugs according to the retailers floor layout.